BoardGameGeek Board Games Scraper

BoardGameGeek Board Games Scraper

Scrape board game data from BoardGameGeek hot lists, search results, or top-ranked charts, up to a million games per run. Every game comes with its rank, rating, player count, and full metadata. No API key or XML parsing required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

BoardGameGeek's XML API needs request queuing, rate-limit handling, and manual XML parsing. This reads the public game feeds directly, filtered by mode and search term, and returns each match in one fixed schema. You get the data you need without building a BGG API client.

Who uses it	What they scrape BoardGameGeek for
Game publishers	Monitor which mechanics and themes are trending in the top-ranked games.
Market researchers	Track rating distributions and player counts across new hot releases.
Hobbyist developers	Build a personal board game database with current BGG rankings and metadata.
Content creators	Pull the latest hot games list for a weekly roundup article or video.

What it does

This Actor collects board game listings from BoardGameGeek by hot, search, or top-ranked mode, and returns each one as a flat row.

• 🔥 Hot Games: currently trending titles on BoardGameGeek, refreshed on each run.
• 🔍 Search by Query: find games matching a name or keyword like 'strategy' or 'catan'.
• 🏆 Top Ranked: the all-time highest-rated board games from the BGG database.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with BoardGameGeek data

📈 Monitor hot game trends.

A publisher runs the Actor in hot mode weekly to see which new titles are gaining traction and adjust their own release calendar.

🔎 Research a niche genre.

A blogger searches for 'dungeon crawler' to pull all matching games with their ratings and player counts for a comparison post.

🏆 Audit the all-time greats.

A game designer scrapes the top-ranked list to analyze common mechanics and themes among the highest-rated board games.

📊 Feed a market analysis dashboard.

A data analyst schedules daily runs of hot and top-ranked modes to populate a dashboard tracking rating shifts and new entries.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key	Reads public BoardGameGeek pages, no registration or OAuth.
Flat output	Every game is one row, ready for spreadsheets or databases.
Three discovery modes	Hot, search, and top-ranked cover trending, niche, and all-time best.
Scalable runs	Collect up to 1,000,000 games in a single run.

How it compares

This Actor focuses on fast, flat game listings from three discovery modes. Other BoardGameGeek scrapers on Apify add reviews, collection data, or XML API access.

Feature	ParseForge	BoardGameGeek Scraper - Board Game Data & Ratings	BoardGameGeek (BGG) Board Game Reviews Scraper	BoardGameGeek (BGG) Board Game Reviews Scraper
Hot, search, and top-ranked modes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not listed
Flat row output (no nested XML)	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Written reviews and reviewer profiles	Not listed	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Collection context and ownership data	Not listed	Not listed	Yes	Yes
BGG XML API2 integration	Not listed	Yes	Not listed	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor from hot, search, or top-ranked modes, and set a maximum number of games so only the top matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "maxItems": 10,
 "mode": "hot",
 "search": "strategy"
}

A larger pull:

{
 "maxItems": 200,
 "mode": "hot",
 "search": "strategy"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.021 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$2.10
1,000 results	$21.00
10,000 results	$210.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the BoardGameGeek Board Games Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to BoardGameGeek through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/boardgamegeek-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check that your search term is spelled correctly and is not too specific. Try a broader keyword. If using hot or top-ranked mode, BoardGameGeek may be temporarily slow; retry the run.

The run is taking too long.

Lower the maximum number of games. The Actor respects BoardGameGeek's rate limits, so large runs take time. For bulk data, consider splitting the work across multiple runs with different modes.

Some games are missing data fields.

BoardGameGeek pages vary. Some games may not have a player count or a rating yet. The Actor returns whatever is publicly listed; missing fields appear as empty in the output.

I get an error when using search mode.

Ensure you have filled in the 'Board game name' input field. If the field is empty, the Actor cannot run in search mode. Switch to hot or top-ranked mode if you do not have a search term.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need a BoardGameGeek account or API key?	No. The Actor reads public BoardGameGeek pages directly. No login, API key, or XML parsing is required.
What data fields does the Actor return?	Each row includes the game name, rank, rating, number of voters, player count, and other metadata available on the listing page. The exact fields are shown in the sample output on the Actor's page.
Can I scrape both hot games and search results in one run?	You select one mode per run: hot, search, or top-ranked. To collect from multiple modes, run the Actor once per mode and merge the datasets.
How many board games can I scrape?	You set the maximum number of games per run, up to 1,000,000. The Actor stops when it reaches that count or runs out of matching games.
Does this Actor get game reviews or comments?	This Actor focuses on game listings and metadata. It does not collect written reviews or forum comments. For reviews, see the related Actors below.
What is the difference between hot and top-ranked modes?	Hot mode returns games currently trending on BoardGameGeek. Top-ranked mode returns the all-time highest-rated games based on BGG's ranking algorithm.
Can I search for a specific game by name?	Yes. Set the mode to 'Search by Query' and enter the game name or a keyword. The Actor returns matching games from BoardGameGeek's search results.
How do I export the scraped data?	The Actor outputs data in CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML. You can download the dataset from the run's storage tab or push it to an external service via an integration.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by BoardGameGeek, LLC. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.